Sit down, strap in*, and get ready for a back to basics episode. Everything from Patreon- Hey! We launched our campaign! - and piano to Daylight Savings Time and the complete, unabridged history of Heather's sex toy ownership. That last part isn't a joke.

In 2012, Tanlines (Jesse Cohen and Eric Emm) released their first album and Heather was hooked. She told John to listen and he soon had the album on repeat. Eventually, John's son followed suit. Now, the electronic/indie duo's newest EP, "Presents", puts a very Tanlines spin on classic kid's songs and Jesse joins the spiral to talk about the new album, music, identity, self awareness, and parenting. Oh. And the cuteness of babies.

Hello, dear listener! And sometimes not so dear, depends on how you're feeling on any given day and whether or not you think we have complained one too many times about our children's inability to throw away a goddamn tissue. We promise to be more vigilant about that. Maybe. Probably. We never know where our conversations are going to end up, only that no one ever gets hurt. Usually. Sometimes Heather can tell that her mother has listened to a specific part of a certain episode by how many times she drops off Chick-Fil-A for the girls unannounced WHICH ONLY MAKES THINGS WORSE, MOTHER.

Anyway! We've launched our PATREON but haven't really publicized it yet because of already scheduled guests. Don't miss this week's episode (our guest had Heather audibly twitterpated). We'll talk a lot more about PATREON next week, but if you're interested in helping us offset some of the production and hosting costs or even just donating because you like how we complain about our children's inability to throw away a goddamn tissue, mosey on over here.

Again, we'll get into greater detail about all of it including expanded tiers and rewards soon. Stay tuned!

Paid leave is important. So is supporting new parents. The Center for Parental Leave Leadership (CPLL) is helping companies and employees successfully navigate parental leave to improve the experience for everyone involved. Dr. Amy Beacom, Founder and CEO of CPLL, joins the spiral to talk about how they're making a difference.

Another tragic school shooting, this time in Parkland, Florida. But something is different. People are paying attention. Because the students from Parkland refuse to be silenced until there is change. Now, as a nation, we must work to understand what needs to happen while helping our children feel safe.

Paid family leaves means you'll still be paid while taking time off to navigating family changes and emergencies (babies, medical issues, etc.). But in America, paid leave is almost nonexistent, and that's a huge problem. Director Ky Dickens, our guest this week, set out to shine a light on this critical issue with her newest film, "Zero Weeks," after having a child of her own.

Time for a somber reflection. What? You knew this was coming. Even John has been pretty optimistic lately. Now it's time to ask how parenting affects our kids and the concept they have of how they fit into our bad moods.

This week, we're joined by Mike Salguero, founder of Butcher Box and father to three girls who are three and under. How does he help families enjoy humanely-raised and independently-farmed meat delivered right to the doorstep while helping wrangle three kids? Honestly, we have no idea, but we tried to find out.

Heather is writing a book! It's not out until February 2019, but it's about depression, a clinical trial that changed her life, and dying. Because, oh yeah, Heather died a few times to get to get better. Turns out there's a way to do that! And John has kept it a secret this whole time. A keeper, that one.

We recorded on Dec. 5 and woke up the next day to see that Time's Person of the Year 2017 is "The Silence Breakers." We're happy to add our voices to this important conversation. Everywhere you turn, it seems another high-profile man is being taken down by sexual harassment. "Keep your hands to yourself" should be easy enough, but it seems many men missed that basic life lesson. Now we're thinking about how to approach the subject with our kids.

Holiday advice from MRS: Don't make it your goal to ruin Thanksgiving with politics. Be open, be kind, and lead by example. However, we definitely took a low-road detour this time around, so that statement is a little hypocritical. Thanks for sticking with us, everyone!

Kids are assholes. Okay, that's probably a bit of a sweeping statement but, when your child is faced with bullies, it's the first thing that comes to mind. And it brings back a flood of memories about how hard life can be when you're an insecure 13 year old who's just trying to figure things out.

John is back from Hong Kong, and we're talking travel, jet lag, basic airplane courtesy, and service jobs. Why service jobs? Because they're rough, people can be terrible, and we've both been there so we totally get it.

Manic Rambling Spiral (MRS) is a podcast about single parenting but it's not a parenting podcast. Rather, MRS is a podcast about living life - having a life, a career, and a self - in a setting that is constantly dictated by, built around and sabotaged by our children.

We will always be thankful for the help we received from CANIDAE® when launching this project.